Teacher in Konya dismissed after remarks about female students wearing gym clothes

KONYA

A teacher at a religious vocational high school in the Central Anatolian province of Konya was dismissed from his post on March 8 over comments he made about female students wearing gym clothes.

Ercan Harmancı, a philosophy teacher, was initially suspended from duty in December 2017 after he posted on Twitter that if a man does not get aroused when he sees the body of a young woman wearing gym gear he should question his manhood.

“If the devil does not whisper to you when you see the young girl’s figure, it means you have lost your manhood or your faith,” Harmancı wrote.

He also wrote that physical education classes should be an optional class for students, as it “prepared girls for the devil.”

“When girls wear sportswear it’s like they have become nude. Is adultery common in schools? Yes. If someone says adultery cannot be committed with hands, voices and eyes then they do not know the religion of the Prophet Muhammad,” Harmancı wrote.

A legal investigation has reportedly been launched against him over his comments.